That Which Has Cursed You
by Fudgycub
Summary: Shigeo Kageyama is an esper, blessed with psychic abilities. He has been cursed by a stranger, and now has to live with the pain. Watch as the story unfolds! There are currently no ships and the story is rated T for mild swearing and violence.
1. Chapter 1: Only The Beginning

(A/N) HEY! Anybody reading this is either very confused or a huge nerd for MP100 (like me)! I really hope you enjoy this. I'll be updating as often as school allows. I want to apologize if anybody seems OOC, and if anything doesn't match up with the manga; I'm still catching up! I just wanted to post something for anybody that was as disappointed as I was for the lack of fanfiction for this AWESOME story. Thanks, and, without further ado, enjoy!

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Chapter 1: Only The Beginning

It was a cool Thursday in autumn. Kageyama Shigeo, known as Mob by certain friends and acquaintances, was enjoying the refreshing breeze on his walk home. Club activities were cancelled for the day due to Musashi-san and the rest of the club's sprained ankle situation. They were prohibited from exercising for a week.

As Mob continued on his way, he recalled that his mother had asked him to pick up some milk on his way home. Mob took a quick detour into town to the closest market and bought the requested item. It was on the last leg of his route that brought him misfortune…

Of course, nothing happened while he was at the convenience store or when he tripped on a crack in the pavement. Nobody expects peculiar scenarios in their normal routine.

 **He couldn't even sense her.**

At the final turn, only seven houses away from his own, a girl collided with the poor, apathetic Shigeo.

Mob fell backwards, scraping his hands painfully on the pavement. While his school supplies fell from his bag and littered the sidewalk, the girl cracked a wicked smile.

"Un; sorry!" Mob grunted, lightly wincing as he shifted on his lightly cut palms.

"It's no problem," the girl smiled and held out a hand.

"Thank you," Kageyama took the out-stretched hand, but winced again as the girl tightened her grip, squeezing his hands.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, psychic energy rushed from the girl, connecting and mingling with Shigeo's, causing his stomach to do flip-flops. He felt the heat run all the way up his back and his hairs stood erect on his nape. This girl was _frightening_.

"Have you ever dealt with a CURSE, Kageyama Shigeo-kun?" The girl grinned, pushed Mob back to the ground and ran off.

Mob gingerly held his hand in the other. He thought, _I think she broke my fingers_. He stood and bent over to grab his school supplies. As he leaned, he felt heat crawl up his neck. The temperature faded when he stood straight again, so he soon forgot about it.

Mob entered his home and quietly called, "I'm back."

"Welcome home, nii-san," Ritsu came to meet his brother in the entrance way.

"Thanks, Ritsu. Would you go give this to Mom?" Mob asked, holding out the milk with his good hand.

"Sure," Ritsu took the delicious liquid and turned, calling back, "Oh, yeah. Dinner will be ready in a half of an hour."

"Thank you."

Mob shuffled up the stairs into his room, and dropped his bag onto the floor. He started his (incomprehensible) math homework until dinner. He had been very careful with his hurt hand, telling himself he would bandage it later.

Sitting down to eat, everyone said, "thank you" and dug in.

Mob made the foolish mistake of hastily picking up his spoon with his right hand; his injured one. He flinched and the utensil fell with a loud clutter onto his plate, and then flipped onto the table, making another loud noise.

Ritsu gave him a curious and worried look. Mob was avoiding eye contact, and trying not to look too shaken or hurt.

"Are you okay, nii-san?" The younger black-haired boy asked.

"Fine," the older responded, staring very intently at his plate. "I've lost my appetite. Excuse me."

And Mob went upstairs, settled into bed, and drifted into sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: To Reigen's Place We Go

(A/N): Hi! I'm back with a new chapter. I just wanted to tell you guys that Shigeo uses both "Teacher" and "Master" to address Reigen. Sorry if that bothers you! Please enjoy, anyways. (See the end of the chapter for more from me).

Chapter 2: At Reigen's Place

The next morning, Mob awoke with a light headache. He looked out his window, taking in the view of the clear sunrise. He quickly got dressed, ate a small breakfast (avoiding the worried look Ritsu still cast into his direction), glanced at the news playing on the television, and walked to school.

All throughout the day, Mob was surrounded by strange events at school, or perhaps somebody had begun bullying him without his noticing.

First period, Mob tripped on his journey to the board and hurt his nose. There was nothing around to trip on, Mob's shoes were tied, and he didn't see any reason for him to have fallen. He brushed the incident aside, blaming it on his own clumsiness.

Second period, a chalkboard eraser fell onto his head when he entered the room. What a silly stunt, and how had Mob not noticed?

Third period, while Shigeo was washing his hands, the sink he was using exploded. Mob decided to ignore that accident, too.

And the day continued on that way, full of peculiar phenomena.

Finally, at the end of the day, Mob went to club to find that the Telepathy Club was not attending, and the Body Improvement guys hadn't even gone to secretly weight-lift. A sign read, "Club cancelled for the day." Shigeo, who wasn't exactly expecting anybody to be there, anyways, left.

As he was leaving, it started to rain.

"That's weird," Mob said aloud, "The weatherman said rain tomorrow. It was supposed to be sunny all day today…"

Since he hadn't brought an umbrella, Shigeo headed towards Reigen's place.

* * *

Reigen was 'working' at his laptop, while Dimple dusted some books.

"Okay," Dimple said, breaking Reigen's concentration (he really wanted to win this game of Minesweeper!), "I get the exorcism books, the urban legends, and all of that, but why the self-help books?"

"Shut up, Dimple," was the response the spirit got in return. The apparition just scoffed, and went back to cleaning.

Mob entered without knocking.

"Oh, Mob! Welcome. You're a bit early today, aren't you?" Reigen said, without looking up from his laptop.

"We-" Shigeo began stuttering, "C-club activities were…cancelled."

Dimple put down his duster, nearly worried by the young boy's shaken voice, and glanced at Mob. He did a double-take.

"Holy, shit. Shigeo!" The ghost floated over to Reigen, "Are you seeing the kid?"

The esper's mentor finally looked up, just as the lights began to flicker.

"M-Mob?!" Reigen jumped out of his seat and rushed across the room.

"T-Teacher…" Mob slowly looked up, sweat slowly dripping down his face, along with droplets of rain.

From the openings of Mob's school jacket to his forehead, Mob was scribbled with flames. The moving tattoos were red and orange, swirling and spitting like real fire. The heat that radiated off of Mob's skin was intense.

"I-it's so h-hot… Teacher," Shigeo's expression was strained. Reigen noticed that the flames peeked out of Mob's gakuran sleeve, too. Upon the boy's right hand was a bandage, where the flames seemed to originate from.

Reigen was, in a word, surprised. As the lights flickered and the unexpected storm continued to rage, objects began to float.

"Goddamn it, Mob!" Reigen exclaimed, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Shigeo, however, did not respond. Rather, he fell to his knees, which was a better answer for Reigen than words have been. The message was simple: No, I'm not okay.

Mob began shaking and repeatedly muttering, "H-hot…it h-hurts…"

Reigen frantically looked to Dimple, losing his cool and business-like personality.

"What should we do?!" He yelled at the ghost.

Dimple shrugged, "It looks like he's cursed. We're just going to have to wait it out."

"Wh-what?! Are you serious? We can't leave him like this!"

Mob, still on the floor, curled around himself, bringing his knees to his chin. He pulled at his hair and his face was full of emotion, but only one: pain.

Suddenly, the objects floating around the room shook violently and began colliding with the walls and other objects. A cup of pencils very nearly hit Reigen on the head, and his desk floated towards Dimple. Neither of them was really worried about themselves. Mob choked and sputtered, his hair standing on end where he wasn't desperately yanking at.

As the older man and ghost watched with aghast fascination, Shigeo seemed to be losing control. However, when Reigen was really about to panic, the boy's body visibly flinched and then relaxed, and all of the objects plopped onto the floor.

"Mob? Mob?" Reigen shook the middle-schooler's still body gently. It was still warm from the…curse?

The fraud picked him up and placed him onto the couch, not registering Mob's still wet clothing.

"Dimple," Reigen said darkly, "Clean up this mess."

"Me?! But I didn't-"

"Do it."

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(A/N): Thank you to everyone who has viewed this story! Special thanks goes to those who have left me little reviews. ([^]/o/[^]) They really got me hyped to FINALLY post a new chapter. I'm super sorry for taking so freaking long to post the chapter. I'll be sure to get the next update out much faster. Please, look forward to it.


	3. Chapter 3: Potential Problems

(A/N) Here I am, working on the next chapter after JUST posting the second one. Hopefully, I'll actually post it in less than half a freaking year...or there-about, anyway. Let's hope for some contingency! Also, as I am actually up-to-date on the manga, this story should be considered an alternate plot point, or an AU or something completely out of the realm of the story. One other thing, do I have to say that I don't own One-sama's amazing works? Because I don't. Anyways, enjoy, my psycho friends. :3

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Mob was on **fire**. His body hurt like hell. On his cursed hand, he could feel something equivalent to scratching. It was tugging and tearing away at his skin. In his mind, he heard echoes of the girl who was the cause of his pain as she screeched with sickening laughter. On top of all of that, he had a stomach ache. He just wanted to wake up and focus on his work...and so he did.

"HYUH!" Shigeo shot up from his spot on the couch, gasping like he just emerged from cold water with no oxygen.

"JEEZ, Mob!" His senior was startled, hoping out of his own chair, "Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry, Master, I-" Shigeo began quietly. "I-I…"

"Mob?" Reigen sent Mob a suspicious look, wanting to avoid a repeat of the mess from ten minutes ago.

"Ah-choo," Came the quiet sneeze.

Reigen sighed. How did he not foresee this happening?

Mob sneezed again. When Reigen noticed that the middle-schooler was shivering, he realized that Mob was still in his soaked clothing. _Shit_ , was Reigen stupid.

"How about we take the bus back to your house, Mob?" Reigen asked suddenly.

"Eh? But, Teacher…" Shigeo started, pausing to observe Dimple suggestively raise his eyebrows. Mob tilted his head in confusion and Reigen squished and stretched the spirit.

"Never mind this perverted ghost," the ginger said, "You're going to catch a cold here in those wet clothes. I have nothing to lend you and the work load is light today, anyways. You should probably just go home. I won't dock your pay."

"O-Oh," Shigeo paused to sneeze again and continued, "I can walk home, though."

"Mob, as your employer and elder, I demand that you take the bus home... while I accompany you. Besides, it's still raining buckets out there," Reigen said firmly.

"Yes, Teacher," Mob agreed without fuss, stepping out, as Reigen gently held him by his shoulders, into the rain.

* * *

"Ritsu, I'm home," Shigeo decided he was happy to have gone home, taking off his shoes and wet jacket. Although Reigen had insisted on taking the bus, neither of the "exorcists" had an umbrella, and Shigeo just ended up soaking wet again.

"Nii-san," Ritsu was in the kitchen, "Welcome back."

"Ah, where are Mom and Dad?" Mob asked.

"Dad had a last-minute business call, and Mom went out shopping with the neighbors. Neither of them should be home until much later." Ritsu stepped out of the kitchen and into the entrance way. He saw his brother dripping from the trek through the rain. "Oh, nii-san. Go dry off before you catch a -"

He was interrupted by Shigeo's sneeze.

"I think it's too late to worry about that," Shigeo said, a trace of a smile curving his lips.

"Well, get changed and I'll make you some hot tea." Ritsu headed back to the kitchen and Mob smiled a little more, thinking of how Ritsu was so responsible.

Ritsu watched his older brother walk up the stairs out of the corner of his eye. He put the kettle on and prepared the tea. Suddenly, as he was looking for the sugar, a certain green ghoul flew into his face.

"How's it hanging?"

"Get the hell out of my face, you powerless green piece of trash." Ritsu deadpanned.

"Aw, c'mon!" Dimple frowned, actually terrified of the young boy, "I flew all of this way in the pouring rain to tell you about your brother, and all you can do is threaten me?"

Ritsu, who was adding the hot water into a mug, whipped his head around.

"My brother? What are you talking about?"

"Well, earlier at Reigen's totally legitimate business, Mob had a- what shall we call it? An 'episode'." Dimple gesticulated with his tiny green hands as he briefly informed Ritsu of the situation that had occurred.

Ritsu looked dangerously at the kettle on the stove, deep in thought. Dimple swallowed hard, afraid that he may have angered the boy more than he had planned. Finally, after Dimple was sure he was about to be erased, Ritsu sighed and looked up to the ghost.

"What happened? Explain it to me."

Dimple let out a short exhale of relief, and began to retell the story. The dark haired boy tensed when Dimple talked of Shigeo, doubled over in pain, or when he passed out. When the memory was completed, Dimple frowned.

"Now, listen. It's not like I'm really worried for the kid, but this type of thing can end up with horrible outcomes. Curses are dangerous, especially for young espers like you or Shigeo," The want-to-be God explained, "But if nothing is done for your brother, soon..."

"Then, what will happen?" Ritsu looked mortified, grasping tightly onto the mug.

"Who knows?" Dimple shrugged, his frown etching deeper onto his intangible features, "As of right now, though, Shigeo doesn't seem to be in a good spot. He could wind up badly hurt..."

Just as Ritsu was about to ask the fifteen questions he had on the tip of his tongue, a thud was heard from upstairs.

"Oh, shit." Dimple muttered, as he shot up through the ceiling.

"Nii-san!" Ritsu yelled, ditching the mug of hot tea he had been squeezing and quickly clambering up the stairs.

Ritsu burst through Shigeo's bedroom door, only to rest his eyes on the quivering form of his older brother, huddled around himself on the floor.

"This cannot be happening."


	4. Chapter 4: Bedroom Blues

(A/N): Thank you to those who are supporting the story! *bows* The cover art that now accompanies the story was made by my amazing friend. As such, this chapter is dedicated to her! If you like her art- which you should, it's stupendous- check out her instagram (nai_nai_draws). She is a really great artist and an even better person (whoo! 'shout-outs' for days). I should probably warn everyone that this chapter has some violence, so if that's not your cup of tea... *shrugs* Again, thanks for the support and enjoy the chapter.

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Shigeo climbed up the stairs slowly, counting each step and steadying his breath as he went. Reaching the second floor's landing, Shigeo felt as though he had reached the summit of a high mountain. When had such a simple task as climbing the stairs become so laborious?

He walked to his bedroom. He didn't even bother turning on the light. He made his way to the closet and quickly changed out of the remaining components of his school outfit. He flopped onto the bedding on his floor, wanting nothing more than to drift into sleep. As he started to readjust his pillow and blanket, though, he felt a familiar heat crawl up his spine.

With a fearful twitch, Shigeo quickly reexamined his room. After not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he relaxed, sniffling a little.

"Are you truly that stupid, Kageyama-kun?" A voice whispered in Mob's ear.

Before Mob could even react, a hand clenched around his neck, burning his skin with a sickening sizzle. Mob tensed his shoulders, having been caught off guard. The fingers around his neck tightened, so he released a small amount of psychic power. It was enough to gently push the girl away. He struggled to stand, but he wanted to get a better look at the girl. He coughed lightly, clutching his side as he leaned against the wall.

"Oh, poor Shige-chan!" The girl snickered, donning a lop-sided grin. "Feeling a little under the weather?"

The dark haired boy did not respond, having nothing to say. Instead, he took a deep and shaky breath. Rather than come up with a retort, Shigeo took in the girl's appearance, despite the darkness of the room.

She was no taller than Mob, but was bulkier than him. Her arms and legs were tensed, like the muscles of a poised animal. Her hair was long and a soft dirty blonde. It flowed like she was immersed in water, framing her heart-shaped face, but covering her eyes. She wore a delicate lilac tank top and shorts.

"What's your name? Why are you following me?" Shigeo asked suddenly.

She was taken aback, not thinking he would ask about her. She stiffened and growled in response.

Then, Shigeo was lifted into the air by telekinesis (or some other power that didn't require physical contact). The feeling of being strangled returned. Along with it came a wave of dizziness and the growing pain of burns. Mob raised his hand, the one that was marked by the fiery curse, as though he were going to attack.

"Go ahead, Kageyama! Attack me! I want to see you in your most pitiful state," the threatening girl's grin grew into a malicious smile, "As a feral, psychotic beast with absolutely no control!"

Mob flinched. That wasn't what he wanted, and there was no way he could let that happen...

"No," He let out weakly.

Knowing that the boy was stubborn, the girl just smiled wider.

"I'll let the curse do its worse. I'll let it consume you and tear you apart. I'll watch as it forces you to submit, as it burns away your will and destroys your resolve."

She released the esper from the chokehold. He fell to the hard-wood floor with a resounding 'thud'.

The girl retreated, sinking into the wall and disappearing, letting her high-pitched laughter fill the room.

"And when you finally turn on your closest companions, then my vengeful spirit shall be sated..."

Mob lay on the floor, ignoring her dramatic exit. He was preoccupied by the curse that was torturing him. The cursed flames had spread from his hand to his neck, focusing on where the girl had touched him. The pain from her fingers' imprints on his neck were the most severe. It was like re-lighting an extinguished match: the flames quickly licked up the burnt parts.

Sputtering, Shigeo curled around himself, pulling at the neck opening of his t-shirt. It was so unbearably painful. Mob began coughing, hacking as though his lungs were filling with smoke.

The curse had made its way to his face, making his eyes water. He choked on a sob and tightened the grip on his shirt.

Through clenched teeth, he began muttering, "H-hot...R-Ritsu...Mas...ter...h-help..."

* * *

"H-help.."

Teru shot up from the lounging position he had assumed on the couch. He looked around his apartment, dazed and groggy from sleep. Assuring himself that there were no suspicious characters snooping around, he put a hand to his forehead.

"Phew, what a strange dream!" He muttered, trying to tame his short and messy hair, ruffled from his nap.

Standing and going to the kitchen for a quick sip of water, Teruki dwelled on the dream that was already slipping away from his memory.

"That voice...It almost sounded like Kageyama?"

He shrugged off his worry, chugged his drink and went back to the couch to catch up on some beauty sleep. Sitting there, though, he couldn't quite forget the way the voice sounded in his dream. It was so strained, so helpless. If it had been Kageyama's voice, what events could cause him to sound so weak?

The more the blonde contemplated the dream's meaning, the more agitated he got.

"Ah, fine!" He hopped from the sofa and stormed off to get dressed, "I need to get a breath of fresh air..."

* * *

"This cannot be happening." Ritsu said, his voice quivering with fear. He quickly crossed the short distance between him and his brother.

"Shige, talk to me! Are you alright?!" He went to shake his brother, like all of the emergency procedures taught you to do. Shigeo, however, twisted away from his brother's grasp.

"R-Ritsu..." Mob's face was contorted with pain as he struggled to speak, "D-don't touch m-me...curse...might h-hurt you..."

Before the younger brother could react, Shigeo's eyes flew open, suddenly releasing a surge of energy. Mob let out a whimper.

"Nii-san!" Ritsu shouted. He was thrown backwards and collided with the wall, having been propelled by the blunt force of Mob's power. He was struck by a sense of dread, greater than the worry he held for his brother.

Similar to the events that had happened at the Spirits and Such Consultation office, Shigeo began levitating objects in his room. Thankfully, there was a minimal amount of furniture and miscellaneous supplies. The situation was much worse than the aforementioned incident, however, as Mob was experiencing greater suffering.

He began coughing from somewhere deep inside of his chest; the pain caused him to curl around himself more, drawing his knees to his chin. Clutching his side, he felt the curse penetrate deeper than his skin, targeting his blood-cells, muscles, and eventually even his organs.

Not being able to withstand the excruciating agony of his burning insides, Shigeo finally let out a scream. With his vocalization, the contents of his room shook and trembled.

Ritsu, still huddling by the wall, sat with a pained expression, feeling 100% **useless**. _I'm such a hopeless case; I can't even help my own hurt brother. I'm so awful..._

The objects of the room continued to shake, spiraling in random directions and causing a ruckus. Ritsu didn't even flinch when Mob's stapler smacked into the wall, right next to his ear.

"Shigeo, you have to calm down!" Dimple's voice suddenly rose over the commotion.

Surprisingly, the spirit's exclamation cut right through both Shigeo and Ritsu's thoughts. Mob took in a slow and strained breath, his body relaxing, and the floating objects fell to the ground. The marks of his misfortune receded, allowing Shigeo to stop suffering.

As Shigeo lost consciousness, Ritsu gained his composure and rushed to his brother's side. Frightened, he shook his brother, turning Mob onto his back.

"Nii-san?" The words were nearly lost in his throat. When no response came, the younger of the two began panicking. Shaking Shigeo more vigorously, he whispered, "Y-you're not d-dead, right?"

Dimple, feeling the slightest twinge of pity for both boys, flew to Ritsu's shoulder.

"Look at his cheeks, he's flushed," Dimple muttered, "and you can see that his chest is rising and falling, though his breathing _is_ a little off.

Ritsu, realizing that his precious sibling was still alive, allowed some tears to fill his eyes. He let them fall in streams without shame, not even considering to wipe them away. He hiccupped and held his brother's body closer.

"But, Ritsu," Dimple went on, "He's even worse than before. I bet he has a fever."

In response, Ritsu felt Shigeo's forehead. It did seem kind of warm..

"Maybe you should call your parents; get an adult," the specter suggested.

"They don't carry cell-phones," Ritsu replied, pausing to think. _There are many options_ , he supposed. He could suck up his pride and ask Reigen for help, but that would be a last resort for sure. If he had to, he could take care of Shigeo by himself. Dimple had been alarmingly helpful, perhaps he would help Ritsu nurse Shigeo back to health... No, that was a bad plan. Maybe, he should just-

Ritsu's musings were interrupted by the gentle tinkling of the doorbell. Placing his brother gently on the messy bedding, Ritsu stood and went to answer the door. He was expecting to see his parents when he threw the door open without asking who was there. He didn't meet the familiar faces of his mother or father, though.

"Oh!" Ritsu blinked the shock off of his face, returning it to the usual neutrality, "Uh, hello. What can I help you with?"

The response came quickly, accompanied by a charming smile.

"Good evening, Brother-kun. Is Kageyama at home?"


End file.
